


Red Cars and Finger Brushes

by dementorsatemysoup



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: I Don't Even Know, Light Angst, M/M, Pre-Slash, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 08:49:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3350633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dementorsatemysoup/pseuds/dementorsatemysoup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Happy Valentine's Day, Rick."</p>
<p>Rick smiles and whispers, "Happy Valentine's Day, Daryl."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Cars and Finger Brushes

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!!
> 
> This is terrible, and I probably had too much coffee today, but hey, it's Singles Awareness Day, so why not write some mushy stuff between these two.
> 
> So, thanks for reading, drop me a comment if you can, and I don't own 'em.
> 
> Bye!!

Beth is the one who reminds everyone it's Valentine's Day. She races around the prison, handing out homemade Valentines, pressing her lips into the cheeks of everyone she runs into, her smile infectious. Taking a page out of her sister's book, Maggie digs out an old cassette player, putting on some uppity music, and grabs Glenn's hand, yanking him to his feet, and swinging him around the kitchen floor. Hershel allows Carol to pull him up, too, both dancing a little less enthusiastically than Glenn and Maggie, but they're having fun nonetheless. Even Carl smiles when Beth offers him her hand and they both begin some quasi-dance that has Rick chuckling from his position against the wall. He's not really in the celebrating mood, but he's glad his family is having a good time.

When Rick's certain no one will miss him, he escapes the kitchen and heads towards his cell. He pushes the curtain to the side, slipping into the small room, and settles on his bed. He remembers the first Valentine's Day he shared with Lori, how he had bought her a bouquet of lilies from the local floral shop, and how they promptly died before he could give them to her. She still smiled when he handed them over, still put them in water, but he knows she had only been humoring him. Sometimes he wonders if she spent most of their marriage humoring him, or maybe he had been humoring her; he can't be sure anymore.

He hates Valentine's Day.

His curtain twitches to the side and Rick looks up, smirking when Daryl ducks into his cell. He has a scowl on his face, his right hand scrubbing at his cheek, his left holding a green heart, and he grunts, "I feel violated."

"Let Beth be," Rick says softly, "we all don't have a lot to celebrate lately."

"I guess," Daryl mutters dropping his Valentine on the small stool in the corner. He crosses the room, slowly sinking onto Rick's cot, and gives him a worried look.

"I'm fine," the ex-cop reassures the archer, his smirk melting into a tired smile.

"If you're sure."

"I am."

They sit in silence for a long while, but Daryl breaks it by clearing his throat. "I, uh, I got ya something."

"You did?" Rick sits up, intrigued, and raises his eyebrows. "What?"

"'s nothin' much," Daryl mumbles looking at his knees, his neck turning red. "Just something I found."

Rick gestures with his hand and says, "Let's see it then."

The archer stands up, digging into his pocket, and pulls out a tiny, red car. He holds it out to Rick, waiting for him to take it, and when the ex-cop does, Daryl mutters, "You said you liked the show, and I saw it..."

"Thank you," Rick says quietly, studying the car. His dad and him used to watch Starsky and Hutch reruns whenever they came on, despite the fact that Rick's mother didn't approve. It'd been a memory shared between father and son, something Rick had always wanted to have with Carl, and the only person he had ever told about it had been Daryl. "I didn't get you anything," he states looking up at the archer.

"Don't need nothing," Daryl replies with a shrug, sinking back onto the cot.

"Sure ya do." Rick gets to his feet, looking around his small space, searching for something to give his friend.

"It's fine," Daryl insists grabbing the ex-cop's sleeve, trying to tug him down onto the cot. "If ya wanna give me something, just sit here with me for a while."

Rick gives the archer a curious look, and asks, "You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright." Rick sits back down.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Rick," the hunter states after a beat, letting the ex-cop go, his fingers brushing the back of the other man's hand.

Rick smiles and whispers, "Happy Valentine's Day, Daryl."


End file.
